Cherry

Chapter 11

Cherry

"Can you pass me the honey, honey?" Ethan winks as he stands in front of me with a platter of food for booth six. I smile and take the container of honey off the counter and hand it over.

"We're at work. Don't flirt with me," I laugh and hope my face isn't turning beet red.

"So, I can kiss you, but flirting is out of the question?" he teases, and all I do is giggle and walk back into the kitchen to start on the dishes.

As I place a fork in the dishwater, my thoughts keep tracing back to Ethan. Our kiss last night was out of nowhere and unexpected, but memorable. I went home wanting more than what I received from him. I kept thinking about the way his hand explored my body and how soft his lips were. I told myself to stay away from him this summer, but something keeps pulling me closer and closer to him.

When I made it back home last night, my moms would not leave me alone. As soon as I walked in the door, they knew something was going on, because I came in smiling. I guess it's been weird for them to see me smile so much this past week. I haven't felt this happy in a long time,  honestly, probably not since Olive. I think my moms are noticing I'm finally allowing myself to get close to someone else, and it makes them full of joy.

I know I haven't completely opened up to Ethan yet, but it's going to take time. It will definitely be easier to kiss him and be physical than to talk about myself.

Speaking of the devil, Ethan comes into the kitchen and drops dirty dishes into the sink, causing water to bounce out and splash all over me. I notice soap duds in my hair and find that my apron is so soaked that it's dripping water all over the floor. I spin around and face him laughing, "You dick!" I turn back around, towards the sink, and cuff my hand, dipping it into the soapy water. Once I get a handful of water and soap, I turn back around quickly and throw the water all over Ethan, hitting him right in the chest. Some splashed on his face, but I mainly soaked his torso.

"Oh, you're going to pay for that," he smirks. With my back facing the sink, Ethan walks toward me. With every step forward he takes, I go backward until I have nowhere to go. My back hits the kitchen counter as his body is perfectly aligned with mine. Our bodies are touching, and I'm looking up into his sparkling, intimidating eyes, and I watch as his eyes leave mine so they can roam my body. He has the same look in his eyes as he did last night before he kissed me, so I know that he wants me. The feeling is mutual, Ethan.

He begins to lean into me closer, his lips only centimeters away from mine. I close my eyes as I make my lips move to his, when I'm welcomed by damp dishwater pouring down my head and down my neck, seeping down into my clothes.

My eyes fly open and so does my mouth. "You asshole!" I push him in the chest playfully.

So I can see better, I move the drenched pieces of hair out of my face and once I do, I see Ethan with a huge grin on his face. He begins to laugh and say, "Did you not hear me? I said you were going to pay for what you did."

"I hate you," I laugh and face my back to him. I go back to washing the dishes, pretending he isn't in the room with me after the stunt he pulled.

"You don't hate me," he says, moving closer to me. He puts his body on mine and places his hands on my waist from behind as I continue to wash dirty plates and utensils. He removes his right hand from my waist and traces it up my arm, making it harder to pretend like he isn't in the same room as me. Ethan's hand stops climbing once he reaches my neck, and he moves my hair away from it and slowly moves closer to it. He begins to plant delicate kisses on my neck, making it harder and harder to focus on doing my job.